Tag: True Trail

Mary Jean Tomlin, also known as Lily, was born on September 1, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan. Tomlin is mostly known for being an American actress, but her artistic repertoire also includes being a comedian, writer, and producer.

Her interest in the theatre and performing arts first began when she attended Wayne State University. After graduating college, she started doing stand-up comedy in nightclubs in Detroit and New York. She was one of the very first female comedians to start the trend of male drags, which are trademark jokes that someone continues to use. Drags had been mostly known and popularized by men at the time, but Tomlin broke the gender and racial stereotypes by incorporating them in her routine. She was also the voice of Ms. Frizzle in the ever so popular cartoon show amongst kids called “the Magic School Bus”.

Tomlin was part of numerous TV shows and films in her career, which she has won many awards for. She has won a Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play in the 1986, for the play The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. She was also the recipient of a special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1977. She won a Grammy for the Best Comedy Album in the 1972, for This is a Recording. She has also won several Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Variety in a Music or Comedy Series. In addition to these various achievements, Tomlin went on to gain a nomination for an Oscar! She was nominated for the Academy Award as a Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Nashville. Tomlin is a whole package in the entertainment industry, and a true trail-blazer. She started trends and paths that women could follow her in when no one else was doing it. She is a true GirlMogul!